Siliguri, Oct. 29: The directorate of technical education and training has decided to expel polytechnic student Anindya Garai, whose alleged circulation of an MMS on intimate moments with his girlfriend prompted her to kill herself.

“The directorate has taken the decision to rusticate Anindya from the college today. The formalities will take a day or two to be completed and a letter will be issued declaring his rustication,” said Subrata Sarkar, the principal of Siliguri Government Polytechnic.

The accused is missing since September 18 when the girl, a second-year student of the college, had lodged an FIR against him.

Yesterday, the principal had said he did not have the power to expel Anindya, a third-year architecture student of the college. The institution is governed by the directorate.

Police who had detained Tapas Singha Roy, a cellphone storeowner in the Siliguri Junction area last evening, suspect that the businessman had helped Anindya make the video clip. His shop has been sealed.

The police said the search for the accused student was on and they were in touch with their counterparts in Bankura. Anindya is a resident of Balarampally in Bankura’s Sonamukhi.

“We have already sent a four-member team to Bankura and another team will leave for the district. We are expecting the student to be arrested shortly,” said Gaurav Sharma, the additional superintendent of police of Siliguri.

This morning, state urban development minister Asok Bhattacharya visited the girl’s parents at their Pati Colony residence where she had committed suicide on Wednesday evening.

Bhattacharya, accompanied by councillor of Ward 47 Nurul Islam, assured the girl’s parents of speedy arrest of the accused.

“Whatever happened to the girl is shocking and I will talk to the district police superintendent and the inspector-general of police (north Bengal) to speed up the investigation and arrest the culprit, who forced the girl to commit suicide, immediately. I will also talk to the Bankura police in this regard,” Bhattacharya, the CPM MLA from Siliguri, told reporters after visiting the bereaved family.

Residents of Pati Colony and several students’ organisations, including the Chhatra Parishad, SFI and the AIDSO, submitted memorandums to the administration urging for action against the accused.

“What we want now is that the student who had forced the girl to take such a drastic step should be punished,” said Mintu Sarkar, a neighbour of the victim’s family.